Indicating archery target



Nov. 15, 1949 G. H. HAVEY INDICATING mcnmw TARGET 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1944:

Nov. 15, 1949 5. H. HAVEY. 2,487,871

I INDICATING ARCHERY TARGET Filed March 4, 1 944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT. .g orrice 7 2,487,871 INDICATING, Anomznvs George Henry Havey, J ackso n Heights, N,.Y. Application March 4, 19454; serial No. 525,024

3 Claims. (01. zit-102.2. W

This. invention relates to targets and has particular'reference to improvements in targets for use, upon archery ranges.

Archery targets are made circular as viewed from the front and the front face of such a target is provided. with concentric rings of difierent colors and having difierent scoring values. Myinvention has for its object to provide an improved target of this. class which is. associated with registering mechanism in such manner that when one off the target rings is struck by an arrow or other projectile said ring is actuated by the impact of "the arrow or other projectile independently of all of the other target rings and acts through suitable devices or mechanism to operate said registering mechanism to cause the latter to indicate which of the target rings was struck by the arrow vor Other projectile. It is also an object of this inventionto provide a target of this class which will be of durable, simple and efficient. construction.

To these ends I have provided a target of the character described which, in its preferred form, maybe constructed and operate as set' forth in the following description, although it is to be understoodthat. modifications thereof not herein shown are intended to be included Within the scope of the appended claimsby whichthe several features of the inventionare separately pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure I is a front elevation of an archery tar get constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional detail relating to one of the brackets hereinafter referred to; Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of. Fig.1.. 'Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the electrical apparatus of the target'shofwn in Figs. land 3. t

The illustrated embodiment of my invention comprises a pedestal l0 herein shown as a-con-- crete monolith within which. is embedde'd ljthe lower end of a vertical post. or stem llltha't. is

provided at its upper end with a er'izontarcmse bar l2. The opposite end portions ofcrosshar l .2

it within and arefwelded to. brackets Ml which,

holes" provided: through the: wood disk. I4 and also extend'throughholes; provided through; the sheet metal disk I15 beyond the latter to receive. upon their threaded extremities thenuts I-6-. Itw-ill also be clear that all of the brackets I1 and i8 arefgrounded on the sheet metal disk I15 and that the latter, as shown in Fig. 4, isyconnected by a conductor 29- with' the n ega-tiveror ground wire of a current-supplying circuit 2|.

The brackets IT and I8; differ in construction only with respect to their lengths, the'brackets I] being made longer than the brackets l8'.- Each bracket istubular andhasloosely mounted. within it a rod or spindle 22 provided at its rear end with a stop collar 23- abutting the rear end of. the bracket and yieldingly held in position against the same by a coiled spring 24 mounted upon the forward end portion ofv saidrod or spindle:

The two disks M and- I5 and the brackets l1 and Hlall constitute parts of the target head that is indicated generally by the reference numeral 25.. This head also includes two banks or groups of target elements all of which; with the exception of one, are-in the form of rings, the exception being the bulls-eye element 26.

' The-two-groups of target elements are disposed one: in front of the other; the front group including the circular bulls-eye 26- andtwo annular elements or: rings 21 and'Z-B, ,and the; rear group comprising two annular elements or rings29; and 30.; Each targetelementZ'L, 28,; Hand 3015 an annulated structure comprising a backing ring- 3| of wood (Fig. 3), an intermediate ring 32; of cushioning: material such as felt or rubber which serves as abarrier to stop arrows, and a relatively thick. front. ring 33 comprising an outer tubular: sheathvof canvas or: other suitable. textile fabricinclosing. afilling, of straw having the; stems thereof disposed? circumferentially. These three rings of each: target. element are confined between two: sheetmetal' rings; 34 and: (Fig, 3) which are nailed or otherwise rigidly fastened to the woodbackingring 3| of said-element. The cushioning ring 32 iscemented or otherwise fastened to. the wood. backing ring 3| while the straw ring 33 is.cernented or. otherwise fastened'to the cush- Lioni'ng ring 32. The bulls-eye element "23 is constructed approximately the same asthe elements 2T, 28, 2 9 and'39' except. that the diiferent layers are in the form of disks.

Between the bulls-eyey element 25 and base member" l3 (Fig; 3) three relatively long brackets 3. ficient tension to hold their stop collars 23 against the rear ends of said brackets. The base ring 3| of the annular target element 29 is rigidly fastened to the front ends of the spindles 22 of a circular series of relatively short brackets [8. The base rings 3! of the annular target elements 2! and 28 are rigidly fastened to the front ends of the spindles 22 of two circular series of relatively long brackets I1, while the base ring 3| of target element 30 is rigidly fastened to the front ends of the spindles 22 of a circular series of relatively short brackets l8. The springs 24 (Fig. 2) of all of the spindles are under sufficient initial stress to yieldingly maintain all of the collars 23 against the rear ends of their brackets, while said spindles are free to be moved endwise within their brackets and also to rock to some extent relatively thereto. Normally the springs 24 on the spindles of the relatively short brackets maintain the front faces of target elements 29 and 36 about three-eighths of an inch away from the rear faces of the target elements 26, 21 and 28.

Fixed in position within a groove provided upon the rear face of each target element 26, 21, 28, 29 and 38 is a contact ring 36 that is cooperatively disposed with respect to an adjustable fixed contact screw 31 provided upon each of the brackets by which said target element is supported. Normally each contact ring 36 is spaced away from its contact screws 3! about one-quarter of an inch.

As shown in Fig. 4 each contact ring 36 is connected by a conductor 38 with one end of the winding of a magnet f forming part of a relay. The relay for the contact ring 36 of the bulls-eye element 28 is shown at a; the relay for target element 29 at b; for target element 2? at c; for target element 30 at d, and the relay for target element 28 at 6. These five relays are constructed alike and each comprises a magnet f, a fixed contact 9, and an armature h cooperating with the fixed contact 9. Armature h is connected with one end of a heating coil 2' whose opposite end is connected by a wire 7' with the negative wire of circuit 2!. The

heating coil 2 is mounted upon a thermostatic switch element It whereof one end is rigidly fastened to a suitable fixture or support and the opposite end isnormally in engagement with a fixed contact n.

With the relays a, b, c, and e, respectively are associated incandescent lamps a, b, c, d and e each of which has one of its terminals connected by a wire 1' with the fixed contact 11 of its thermostatic switch and the other terminal thereof connected by a wire t with the positive wire of circuitZl. One end of the winding of the magnet f of each relay is connected by a wire 0 with the fixed end of the thermostatic element k while the opposite end of said magnet is, as pointed out above, connected by a conductor or wire 38 with one of the contact rings 36, said opposite end being also connected by a wire as with the fixed contact g.

The thermostatic switches i-k-n are of ordinary construction, the element k consisting of two strips of thin sheet metal riveted or otherwise fastened together, one of said strips being made from one kind of metal such as copper and the other being made from another kind of metal such as zinc. When this element is cold it maintains a straight form as shown but when heated by coil 2' the two metals expand differently and the element is warped away from fixed contact n thereby opening the circuit of lamp a, coil 2' and magnet f.

The several lamps a, b, etc., may be mounted within a housing as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4 and placed in a position where the lamps may be seen from the shooting line of the range, preferably adjacent to the latter. The relays a, 12, etc., and the thermostatic switches ma be mounted within a container or box 39 fixed in position upon the rear side of the base l3 of the target head as shown in Fig. 3.

The front face of the bulls-eye target section or element 26 is colored golden or yellow as is also the lamp a; the front face of the target element 29 is colored red as also is the lamp b"; the front face of target element 27 is colored blue as is also the lamp 0; the front face of the target section (ii! is black while its lamp d is provided with a bulb that is of a blackish transparent color, and the front face of target element 23 is white as is also the lamp 6.

When either element or section of the target head is struck by an arrow at any exposed point thereof said element or section is tilted rearwardly against the pressure of some of its springs '2 and its contact ring 35 is thereby caused to engage one or more of the contact screws 3? provided upon the brackets H or 48 by which said element or section is supported. This results in the illumination of the lamp of that section or element which lamp remains lighted for an appreciable period of time that is determined by the action of the thermostatic switch 1', k, n. For example: The target section or element 26 is struck by an arrow and forced rearwardly as described thereby closing a circuit which is traced as follows: From the positive wire of circuit 2| through wire t, lamp a, wire r, thermostatic element It, wire 0, magnet f, the conductor 38 connecting that magnet with the contact ring 35 of the target element or section 25, one or more of the brackets ll supporting the latter, metal disk 15 and thence through conductor 20 to the negative wire of circuit 25. This energizes magnet of relay a which lifts its armature h into position against fixed contact g thereby closing a second circuit which is traced as follows: From the positive wire of circuit 2| through wire 15, lamp :1, wire 7*, fixed contact n, thermostatic element It, wire 0, magnet 7, wire a: connecting the conductor 33 with fixed contact 9, armature h, coil 2' and thence through wire 7' to the negative wire of circuit 2|. Thus magnet f continues to be energized after the first circuit is broken at the contact ring 36 of target element 26 in order to continue the heating action of coil 2' until the thermostatic element It warps away from fixed contact ,n whereupon lamp a is extinguishedand all of the parts are restored to their normal conditions.

When a target section is struck by an arrow it is only momentarily displaced rearwardly since its springs immediately return said section to its normal position thereby opening the primary lamp circuit 20-38 at the target. Therefore, the second circuit with its thermostatic switch is provided to continue the illumination of the lampfor an appreciable length of time after the return of the target section to its normal position.

An important feature of my invention concerns the construction, arrangement and mode of operation of the target head elements28, 2f, 28, 23 and 30. As. illustrated in the drawings, these elements are arranged in two banks di posed. ne

in front of the other with the elements of one bank staggered relatively to those of the other and with the elements of each bank spaced apart so that the elements of the rear bank are exposed to view through the spaces separating the elements of the front bank.

It is also of importance that each element of the rear bank is made of greater width than that of the space between elements of the front bank behind which it is located with the result that no exposed cracks between elements exist Within which an arrow can lodge. Thus it is not possible for an arrow to displace more than one target element and illuminate two lamps at the same time. Thus, each target element is independently movable under the impact of an arrow to illuminate its own lamp only.

What I claim is:

1. In a target, the combination with a hit-registering mechanism of a base, a plurality of brackets extending from and supported by said base, a bulls eye element and a plurality of concentric ring elements, and means for securing yieldingly each of said elements independently of said other elements to said brackets for universal tilting movement, said hit-registering mechanism comprising a first, normally open electrical circuit for each of said elements, means for closing one of said circuits upon hitting the corresponding element, an optical signal means means, and. means for maintaining said second circuit for a predetermined time period upon breaching the corresponding first circuit, thereby maintaining the optical signal for a predetermined time period after return of the said hit element, which caused the making of the corresponding first circuit, into its original position.

2. The target, as set forth in claim 1, in which said closing means in each of said first circuits comprises an electromagnet having a coil which is included in said first and said second circuit, while its armature is included in said second circuit.

3. The target, as set forth in claim 2, in which said means for maintaining said second circuit comprises a normally closed thermostatic switch which includes a heating coil electrically connected to said armature, thereby starting operation upon making said second circuit.

GEORGE HENRY HAVEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 804,712 Ellis Nov. 14, 1905 865,604 Meyer Sept. 10, 1907 1,005,008 Ellis Oct. 3, 1911 1,131,549 Ellis Mar. 9, 1915 1,324,499 Erickson Dec. 9, 1919 1,402,523 Michoud Jan. 3, 1922 1,650,940 I-Iill Nov. 29, 1927 

